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The ethics of loyalty vs work ethic… What would you do?

Wednesday 2 September, 2020
by Anonymous

You work in recruitment for an organisation currently hiring. It is an organisation with strong purpose and values and they value meritocracy. 

A good friend of yours has reached out to let you know they’ve applied for a role with your organisation. It is a role that has so far received over 300 applications. Given the current Covid-19 crisis, receiving this number of job applications has become the norm. 

Your friend and her partner have both lost their jobs due to Covid-19 and you know that she is more than qualified for the role. There are sophisticated systems in place to screen applications, but nevertheless your friend has asked if you could please ensure she is shortlisted, given your role in recruitment. 

The situation is calling in to question a range of your values.  

What would you do?

  • What ethical considerations would you give to your decision-making?

We encourage you to post your answers in the comments so we can create a healthy discussion, with the aim of learning from our peers, becoming aware of differing perspectives and challenging our own biases.

If you would like to submit an ethical dilemma to feature in an upcoming weekly challenge please email: dilemma@bfso.org.

Photo by Free To Use Sounds on Unsplash

Comments

There are 2 comments for The ethics of loyalty vs work ethic… What would you do?.

Re: The ethics of loyalty vs work ethic… What would you do?

Thursday 3 September, 2020
by Simon
If you know your friend would be perfect for the role and you're not compromising the quality, why wouldn't you get your friend the job? Nearly every job I've had in my career is because of someone I know. Is that unethical?
Reply

Re: The ethics of loyalty vs work ethic… What would you do?

Friday 4 September, 2020
by Chris
It can be advantageous for a business to recruit people who other employees know more deeply and would consider a good skills and cultural fit. This is reflected in the referral bonus’ paid by some companies for that very reason (for non recruitment staff).
The known applicant must traverse the same recruitment process and meets the same standards applied to all candidates.
If known good applicants are being overlooked by the initial recruitment algorithm, then this candidate’s case can be used internally to review whether that algorithm is performing satisfactorily or should be reviewed and updated.
The nature of your connection to the applicant should be made known to relevant people in the recruitment and appointment process. If involved in making the appointment, you should discuss with the selection team or a relevant senior executive whether you should abstain, or the terms of any votes you have toward the final appointment, including this first step.
Whilst you’d be happy for a friend to get a job that relieves their personal pressures (eg. loss of previous job due to Covid), it plays no role in progressing their application.
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The Oath

  • Trust is the foundation of my profession.
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